5 Boss Moves That Could Be Unfair Dismissal: Rated by an Employment Lawyer

1. Watching your screen without telling you: 3 out of 10

A boss who installs monitoring software that tracks your screen, your keystrokes or your location, without telling you, is definitely overstepping the mark. This is a serious breach of your rights. However, in terms of legality, on its own, it’s one of the mildest things on this list and here’s why.

Queensland doesn’t actually have a standalone workplace surveillance law. That means an employer can generally monitor a work computer, work email and internet use, as long as the employee has been made aware that it’s going on. 

The real limits sit around the more invasive stuff. Under the Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 (Qld), your boss can’t, for example, secretly use a listening device to record your private conversations. Watching your screen is one thing, but bugging your conversations or filming you in private is another thing altogether.

So why does it still make the list? Because monitoring rarely shows up on its own. When a boss is quietly building an evidence file on someone, it’s often the opening move in a bigger push to manage them out. On its own, it’s a 3, but a huge red flag.

2. Demoting you without consultation after parental leave: 5 out of 10

Imagine you take a long period of parental leave. When you return to work, you notice that your role, your responsibilities, have quietly shrunk and it feels like you’re the last person to know. 

As parental leave is a protected workplace right, this one jumps up the scale a few numbers without much effort at all. The Fair Work Act gives you the right to return to the same position you held before you went on leave. If that job genuinely no longer exists, there are strict rules the employer has to follow. Simply saying ‘We reshuffled while you were away’ is not good enough.

If your employer changes the role you return to without consulting you, they may be engaging in adverse action. That’s to say, an employer taking action against an employee for a reason that’s prohibited by law. In this situation, you could have grounds for an unfair dismissal claim. 

3. An 18-month restraint of trade: 6 out of 10

A clause that says you can’t work in your industry for 18 months after you leave sounds terrifying on paper. In practice, it’s only enforceable to the extent a court says it is.

Restraint of trade clauses are legally binding only in so far as they’re reasonable. They usually only protect something the business is genuinely entitled to protect, like confidential information or established client relationships. An 18-month, industry-wide ban is long, and the broader the restraint, the harder it is to defend in court.

However, there’s a change coming. In March 2025, the federal government announced plans to ban non-compete clauses for most workers earning under the high-income threshold, with the reform targeted to start in 2027. Until it lands, the reasonableness test is what decides whether a clause like this holds up. 

4. Making you redundant the same week you raise a bullying complaint: 8 out of 10

Genuine redundancy is lawful. If a role truly isn’t needed anymore and the employer follows the right process, letting someone go isn’t considered unfair dismissal.

It’s really the timing here that sets off alarms. Raise a bullying complaint on Monday and get told you’re up for redundancy on Friday, and the whole thing starts to look a little sketchy. But remember, making a complaint about your treatment at work is itself a protected workplace right.

Importantly, in an adverse action claim, once you’ve shown the basics, the burden of proof flips. The employer now has to prove the redundancy had nothing to do with your complaint. 

5. Pressuring you to resign so you can’t claim: 10 out of 10

Yes, that 10 out of 10 is justified here. This really is the worst of them all.

Some employers believe that if they make life unbearable enough, you’ll quit, and a resignation means you can no longer submit an unfair dismissal claim. Thankfully, it doesn’t work like that. The law treats a forced resignation and being fired as basically the same thing.

If an employer deliberately makes your working life so intolerable that you feel you have no real choice but to leave, you may have a constructive dismissal claim. 

Here are a few ‘intolerable’ actions that, if they’re taken, might mean your boss is pressuring you to quit:

• A significant pay cut that you haven’t agreed to.
• Being demoted or stripped of key responsibilities.
• Being forced to relocate unreasonably.
• Serious bullying or harassment that the employer fails to address.
• Creating a hostile work environment that effectively forces the employee to resign.

How To Make An Unfair Dismissal Claim

To lodge an unfair dismissal claim with the 公平工作委员会, you generally have 21 calendar days from the day your dismissal takes effect (weekends and holidays count).

It’s a tight deadline, and it’s the single most common reason people miss out. 

A few other things may shape whether you can claim:

• How long you’ve been there: You usually need at least six months of continuous service, or 12 months if you work for a small business with fewer than 15 employees.
• A high income threshold: If you earn above the threshold and aren’t covered by an award or enterprise agreement, you generally can’t bring an unfair dismissal claim. However, you may still have other legal rights, including a general protections claim under the Fair Work Act. This threshold is indexed each year.
• What you might recover: Unfair dismissal compensation is usually capped at 26 weeks’ pay. 

Need A Lawyer For An Unfair Dismissal Claim? 

If you’re unsure whether your employer’s actions were lawful, we can help. Kingsford Lawyers advises and represents employees across Australia, from assessing your options to pursuing claims before the Fair Work Commission. With offices in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast, we’re here to help wherever you’re based. 

Book a free consultation by calling 1300 244 342. No obligation, no pressure, just a straight answer on whether you have a claim.